Video game adaptations are having a moment on many of the biggest streaming services. HBO Max’s long-awaited The Last of Us, for example, is coming in January, while Amazon’s Prime Video is developing titles that include Fallout as well as a God of War adaptation. And then there’s Netflix, which already has an array of well-received series adapted from popular game titles — including the newly released Sonic Prime TV series, which is a Top 10 Netflix show in the US today.
Sonic Prime on Netflix
is, among other delights, jam-packed with easter eggs and throwbacks that fans of the Sonic game franchise will especially appreciate. For example, in Episode 1 (titled “Shattered/Bright Hedgehog Big City“) there’s a flashback that shows how Sonic and Tails first met in the original game.
The voice cast includes Deven Christian Mack, Ashleigh Ball, and Brian Drummond, among others. The streamer Valkyrae also has a cameo in the series — as “Squad Commander Red,” described as a “super-aggro, Full Metal Jacket-style drill sergeant looking to win the battle against The Chaos Council.”
As of this writing, Sonic Prime is currently the #3 show on Netflix in the US. It’s got a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes for the moment, and here’s the official logline:
“The action-packed adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog go into overdrive when a run-in with Dr. Eggman results in a literal universe-shattering event. Desperate to piece his prime reality back together and save his old friends, Sonic races through the Shatterverse, discovering strange worlds and enlisting new friends in an epic adventure of a lifetime!”
Other video game adaptations on Netflix
Besides Sonic Prime, meanwhile, other fantastic video game adaptations on the streaming giant that are definitely worth also checking out include:
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: This series debuted earlier this year, and it still has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It tells a 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in Night City, which is the name of a futuristic metropolis where everyone is obsessed with technology and body modifications. The kid, meanwhile, stays alive by becoming a mercenary outlaw known as an “edgerunner.”
The Cuphead Show: Another of 2022’s new Netflix releases, The Cuphead Show is a comedy series following the misadventures of the loveable scamp “Cuphead” and his brother Mugman. “As the two scour their surreal homeworld of the Inkwell Isles in search of fun and adventure,” Netflix explains, “they always have each other’s back. Unless there’s only one cookie left, in which case it’s every cup for himself.”
Arcane: Finally, another of Netflix’s 2022 video game adaptations that still has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes is this animated series set in the world of the League of Legends game franchise. It offers gorgeous visuals and a story that’s pretty easy for any viewer to get into, and here’s a quick primer: Arcane, according to Netflix, “dives into the delicate balance between the rich city of Piltover and the seedy underbelly of Zaun.
“Tensions between these city-states boil over with the creation of ‘hextech’ — a way for any person to control magical energy — in Piltover. And in Zaun, a new drug called ‘shimmer’ transforms humans into monsters.” Families, as well as friends, are split apart in the rivalry that breaks out between these cities. Meanwhile, the relationships that shaped some of League of Legends’ greatest champions (like Vi, Jinx, Caitlyn, Jayve, and Viktor) are brought to life.
